Pick-up device



March 6, 1956 J. T. PICKERING PICK-UP DEVICE Filed June 17, 1954 Tamas 17F INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent PICK-UP DEVICE James T. Pickering, Charlottesville, Va.

Application June 17, 1954, Serial No. 437,488

4 Claims. (Cl. 56-328) This invention relates to a pick-up device and more particularly to a pick-up device for picking up pecans, loose nuts or other substantially solid small articles from the ground on which they have fallen or otherwise come to rest.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a manually actuated pick-up device of the kind to be more particularly described hereinafter which is easily .and readily manipulatable by a person bending his body and thus increasing the quantity of pick-up work which the person can accomplish in a given period of time without undue strain upon himself.

It is another object of this invention to provide a pick up device of this kind which is light in weight having movable parts which are moved relative to each other by a hand of the person using the device for both moving the scoop which engages underneath an article to be picked up and for discharging the article.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a pick-up device of this kind which is light in weight and easy to operate whereby the device may be readily manufactured at an economical cost and used by a person with very little skill or knowledge and training in mechanical movements.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter described and the novel features thereof defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevation, partly broken away, of a pick-up device constructed according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly broken away and partly in longitudinal section, with the sliding elements in position for discharging an article picked up.

Fig. 3 is the fragmentary side elevation of Fig. 2, but with the sliding elements in position to pick up the article.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the device taken on the line 44 of Fig. l.

Heretofore it has been the custom for persons gathering pecans, nuts or other substantially solid articles on the ground to bend over to pick them up for accumulation in a receptacle. This work of the collector has been unusually hard and the production accomplished by the person has been limited by his physical ability. It is with the thought in mind of increasing the production of the collectors of such articles that I have devised the article pick-up device of this invention. Using my article pickup device it is unnecessary for the collector to stoop or bend over to collect all of the pecans or a nut which'he desires.

The article pick-up device, designated generally by the reference numeral 10, is constructed according to my invention, to be carried about and actuated by the hands of the user for picking up and collecting pecans or other articles from the ground for transfer to a common receptacle usually located at a distance.

The article pick-up device includes an elongated to by oppositely disposed longitudinally extending side walls 15. The front wall 12 extends from the top of tube 11 downwardly part way only, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2' so as to leave an opening 16 in the lower part of tube 11, to accommodate scoop 24.

The rear wall 14 has an opening 17 intermediate the lengththereof in spaced relation to the lower and the upper ends of the tube 11 and below the level of opening 16. I

A pair of rods 18 and 18' are slidable in the tube along the length thereof and there is provided a spacer block 19 secured to the rod 18 for holding the other rod 18' in horizontally spaced relation so that both of the rods 18 may be slid. together or separately along the length of the tube 11.

To accomplish this selective movement of the rods there is provided a transversely extending handle 20 which is pivotally connected to the upper ends of the rods out-. wardly from the upper end of the tube 11. dependingly connected at one end to the handle 20 and engage through eyes 22 fixed to the ends of the rods. In this way the handle 20 may be disposed substantiallyabove the upper ends of the rods and hingedly connected thereto. The lower end of each of the pins 21 is shaped in the form of a hook which is engageable in one of the eyes 22 so that the handle 20 may be in a position perpendicular to the length of the rods or at an angle thereto. When the handle 20 is moved from a position perpendicular to the rods to an angular position relative thereto the rods are moved relative to each other. By pulling on the handle 20 in its horizontal position perpendicular to the rods the rods may be moved along the length of the tube 11 for the reason to be described hereinafter.

The scoop 24 is pivotally connected to lower spacer block 19 on the rod 18 adjacent rear wall 14 by a hinge pin 26 at one end of the open end of the scoop 24. An actuating pin 27 connects the other rod 18' for moving the scoop 24 to the various positions desired during the use of the pick-up device.

The scoop 24 is formed with an inclined bottom wall 25 remote from the open end thereof and remote from the hinge pins and hinge actuating pin. The inclined bottom wall and the side walls of the scoop are adapted to engage about a pecan or other nut to be picked up when the scoop is extended outwardly from the tube 11 in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The end of the actuating hinge pin 27 engageable with the scoop 24 remote from the hinge pin 26 is bent for engagement within an elongated hole 28 of the scoop 24. This elongated hole 28 will provide for the change of the positions of the scoop 24 when the scoop is, positioned longitudinally of the tube as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

A bag 30, formed of paper or some flexible material, is connected to the tube 11 on the rear wall 14 and the open end of the bag 30 is secured about the periphery of the intermediate hole or opening 17 with the closed end of the bag depending therefrom.

A flexible cord 31 is connected to the closed end of the bag 30 having the end of the cord remote from the bag secured to a hook 32 which is engagable in an eye 34 carried by the tube above the opening 17. The bag 30 may be folded along its length by raising up the closed end thereof by means of the cord 31 when the bag 30 is emptied of the material contained therein.

In the drawings there is shown a pecan 35 which will be picked up by the article pick-up device 10 before the Pins 21 are,

pecan is moved, by gravity, outwardly through the intermediate opening 17.

'In the use and operation of the pick-up device 19, described above, the tube 11 is positioned vertically upstanding with one end adjacent to the ground on which the pecan 35 is located at the time when it is desired to pick up the pecan therefrom. The rods are initially extended from the lower end of the tube and then the handle 29 is inclined relative to the rods at which time the scoop 24 is eXtended outwardly fromboth the rods and the tube 11. The handle 20 is held in the hand with the thumb and one finger extended, if desired, along front rod 18 to' steady the device. However, when the bottom end of rear wall 14 touches the ground, this is hardly necessary. Furthermore, if desired, the other hand can also hold the upper end of tube 11.

The pecan 35 to be picked up is then engaged within the confines of the looped open ended scoop 24. Then the rods and scoop 24 are slid Within the tube 11 high enough to dispose the pecan, which has been picked up, adjacent to the intermediate opening 17. The pecan will then roll down the inclined end or bottom 27 of the scoop outwardly through the intermediate opening 17 and into a bag which is secured to the tube as ciearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

When the bag 30 has been sutficiently filled with pecans or other nuts the bag 30 may be released from the tube so that the nuts within the tube can be disposed in a collecting-box or other container for which the pecans have been picked up.

The upward movement of the rods is limited by a stop pin 36 which is secured transversely of the tube at a position Where the lowermost spacer block 19 can engage the stop pin with the scoop adjacent to the discharge opening 17 While the specific details of one embodiment of this invention have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto as changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pick-up device of the kind described comprising an elongated open ended tube open longitudinally thereof on one side adjacent the lower end, said tube having a discharge opening intermediate the length thereof on the opposite side, a pair of parallel spaced apart rods longitudinally slidabie in said tube and relative to each other, a handle pivotally connected to said rods at their upper ends adjacent to and outwardly of said tube for sliding said rods in said tube, an article engaging scoop pivotally connected at one end thereof to each of said rods, so that when the scoop is adjacent the longitudinal opening, tilting of "the handle causes relative movement of the rods and the scoop to swing outwardly, the scoop in the outward position being open on the lower side.

2. The device of claim 1, in which one rod is adjacent the longitudinal opening, and the other rod is adjacent the discharge opening.

3. The device of claim 2, in which the scoop is slidable upwardly to a point adjoining the discharge opening.

4. The device of claim 3, comprising also a receptacle attached to the tube and with an opening over the discharge opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 683,737 Eikmeier Oct. 1, 1901 799,445 Butcher Sept. 12, 1905 968,208 Crawford, Sr. Dec. 29, 1908 1,592,439 Rector July 22, 1924 2,188,768 Demory lan. 30, 1940 

